Natural Rose petal toothpaste

So after a day of making smudge sticks and crumbling up and jarring my dried herbs, I was looking on Pinterest for more wonderful things to learn and saw a link about rose petal natural toothpaste, this blew my mind! I have been collecting and drying rose petals all summer and have a jar full, just ready to play with, I followed the link and found so much more, I just had to share it with you!

It’s easy to fall in love with roses. They offer us beauty and can be an effective source of herbal medicine. This article looks at the many ways we can use roses for our health and beauty. From wild rose salad dressing to decadent facial cream to wild rose petal mead… read on!

The exotic beauty and alluring smell of roses has enthralled humans for thousands of years. Roses have been found entombed with the ancient Egyptian pharaohs and were highly prized by the Greeks and Romans.

The Chinese started cultivating roses around 5,000 years ago and in the late 18th century these roses spread to Europe where they were further hybridized.

Josephine, Napoleon’s wife, adored roses and strived to grow every known rose species in her gardens outside of Paris. Many credit her for the popularity of roses today. In the late 18th century Europe the rose was so highly valued it was used as a type of currency.

Wild rose petals about to be infused with honey.
A special treat that is also wonderful for sore throats. Photo belongs to Methow valley blog

Roses as medicine

Simply the scent and beauty of roses are medicine within themselves, however, the entire plant offers us a wide range of medicinal uses.

Roses excel at cooling and soothing. I’ve personally seen it work wonders on muscle pain, wounds, sunburn and bug bites.

I generally add a small amount of rose petals to formulas for healing the intestines for people with leaky gut or an inflammatory bowel condition such as IBS or Crohn’s.

Rose petals are also a frequent part of formulas for a variety of women’s health complaints from menstrual cramps to menopause complaints.

When using roses for medicine I like to use all the parts. When the wild roses are blooming I harvest the petals, the rose buds, leaves and twigs. All of these can be dried or extracted into alcohol.

The Wild Rose is my most important plant ally, and one that I am continually amazed by. If there is a single plant who has provided me with the most healing, it is this one. My relationship with this thorny beauty deepens each year, and every season the briar teaches me more about boundaries, vulnerability and self-expression. This plant teaches raw, wide open love complete with scars, thorns and an abiding sense of self-knowledge. She teaches that beauty is a bone deep quality, one that we hold in every cell regardless of the pain we’ve lived through or the battles we’ve weathered. In hard years, her petals unfurl skewed and wrinkled but this doesn’t mar her attractiveness. Rather, they add to an already complex character and give her more of the strongly scented medicine she’s known for.

Kiva Rose, herbalist

Roses as food The most common way that roses are used as food is by eating the fruit of the rose often called the rose hip. The hips are high in a multitude of nutrients, most famously vitamin C.

Rose petals are also a fun way to eat roses. Like rose hips they are high in nutrients and especially high in polyphenols, an important antioxidant. Fresh rose petals can be made into jams, wines, honeys, vinegars, sprinkled on salads, and enjoyed in tea.

Now I know at this point some of you are wondering, “But if I don’t have wild roses, can I use the roses in my front yard?”

Photo belongs to Methow valley blog

You certainly can use domesticated roses. First, you want to be sure that they haven’t been sprayed with harmful chemicals. Secondly, your best bet is to use roses that are aromatic. Roses that have no smell may not be as good for medicine or food, so use your nose to find the best roses.

And if possible search out your local wild rose. They like to live in moist habitats and usually grow in dense thickets. This can be along rivers, irrigation ditches, and riparian areas.

Using roses

When the wild roses bloom in June I harvest gallons of rose petals and then spend hours in the kitchen making luxurious herbal medicine.

Some of these petals are made into a tincture. I use brandy or vodka as the menstruum. Adding a bit of honey turns this into a yummy elixir.

Rose Petal Honey Photo belongs to Methow valley blog

Some of the petals are infused into honey – this is something I commonly give as a gift.

Some are dried for teas. I love adding a large handful of rose petals to my daily nourishing infusion.

Here’s one of my favorite tea blends. I often give this as gifts.

Tea for the Heart one part rose petals one part hawthorne leaves and flowers one part linden leaves and flowers one part lemon balm stevia to taste

Blend together (I often make this in large batches). Steep two teaspoons in 8 ounces of water for 15 minutes. Strain Add honey to taste.

Enjoy!

You could also add 1 – 2 cups of this mixture to a quart of just boiled water, let steep for 4-8 hours, and strain. This extended brewing time offers more medicinal benefits.